This is a short story inspired by Balkan folklore. Riley works at a simple bakery in a village where everyone knows each other. One evening an obvious tourist comes in and makes a special request. He wants a loaf of bread made with an ingredient found deep in the woods for which she will be compensated. She seeks input from her “witchy” friend and sets off at dusk to find the ingredient. Riley soon realizes that she is lost when she comes upon a man and asks for help finding the ingredient. He tells her where to find it and asks for some of the bread himself. The next day, she bakes the bread but there is no sign of the man who requested it until the end of the day. He shows up along with the man from the woods. What happens next was entirely unexpected after one of them men eats the bread.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The narrator was superb and made the imagery come to life.